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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

OFF THE GREAT BROAD WAY: 2015’s Best of Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway

Off Broadway and Off Off
Broadway productions often present some of the most creative, risk-taking, and
compelling work in any theatrical season.Of the 120 shows I saw in the world of Off and Off Off since the start
of 2015, I’ve identified a baker’s dozen that stood out among the pack.

Do note that the list is in
alphabetical rather than preferential order.(For my discussion of the best of the Broadway productions, click on
this link – http://tinyurl.com/ngudrtr).

Barbecue.
Robert O’Hara’s riotous comedy about two versions of the same dysfunctional
family (one white, one black) is chock full of surprises, yet no matter how
off-the-wall wacky it gets, there is a logical explanation for everything that
happens. Act II moves into a less effective realm of easy satire, but that’s
OK, because this is still the most genuinely funny play I have seen in a very
long time.Kudos to the playwright, to
the cast, and to director Kent Gash.What a hoot!

Boy Gets Girl. This revival of Rebecca Gilman’s play about a blind date that devolves into a living nightmare for a smart and successful businesswoman marks a great turning point for The Seeing Place, one of those
small and enterprising theater troops that struggle to take root in
New York.In what is only its sixth
season, the company has coalesced into a solidly reliable enterprise, offering
up consistently strong acting, directing, and – increasingly – production
values.

Couriers and Contrabands.Another
pleasurable surprise, Victor Lesniewski’s Civil War drama about spies and
counterspies, is a riveting theatrical experience, smartly directed by Kareem
Fahmy and boasting a terrific ensemble of actors.This absolutely deserves greater exposure – a
rare historic drama that teaches without being pedantic or preachy.

Death of the Persian Prince. This is a play of substance and heart that brings
to light Iran’s heinous practice of coercing homosexual men into having sexual
reassignment surgery – thus justifying that country’s public position that it
has no homosexuals living there. The play popped up as an entry in the
summertime Midtown International Theatre Festival then later had some
additional dates here and there.Its
writer and director Dewey Moss continues to work mightily to keep it before the
public, and I stand firmly as one of its cheerleaders.

Dutchman.Amiri Baraka’s 1964 play about an encounter
aboard a subway between a black man and white woman had been dismissed in many
quarters as a historic footnote, an angry diatribe and a relic of the ‘60’s “Black Power” movement.Director Woodie King,
Jr. and the New Federal Theatre’s imaginative production provided ample
evidence that the play remains sadly relevant.

Incident At Vichy. In playwright Arthur Miller’s centennial year, and in competition with
the highly touted (though, to me, overblown) Broadway production of A View
From The Bridge, this was the eye opener, capturing that moment in history when
the Holocaust was just about to reach its horrific nadir after years of what was
a slowly closing trap under the sleeping eyes of the world.It seems to say that, depending on
circumstances, we are all potential Jews and we are all potential Nazis, before
revealing a third alternative that is delivered unexpectedly from someone who
opts to go in another direction altogether. Richard Thomas is a standout in a solid production,
directed by Michael Wilson.

John. Playwright
Annie Baker just keeps getting better and better. Her play about a young couple
in a floundering relationship, taking place in what seems to be a haunted bed
and breakfast near the haunted battlegrounds of Gettysburg, is nothing short of
mesmerizing – despite a running length of over three hours. We have long known
that one of its stars, actress Lois Smith, is a national treasure, but she
needs to move over to make room on the sofa for Georgia Engel, who absolutely
shines here. Lots of credit, too, to Baker’s creative partner, director Sam
Gold. Their collaboration on The Flick also resulted in a highly engaging production,
though John is a more cohesive effort.Years from now, John will be studied in
college classes; only its running time will keep it from enjoying its share of major
revivals.

Kentucky Cantata.Paul David Young’s devastating
play about a family tragedy, a blend of naturalism and a fourth-wall-breaching
expressionistic design, was given a stellar production at HERE Arts Center
under the direction of Kathy Gail MacGowan. Its stars, Dan Patrick Brady and
Marta Reiman, were particularly effective as a married couple whose lives are
stretched to the breaking point.

My Perfect Mind. Edward Petherbridge and Paul Hunter gave perfectly delightful,
charming, and loopy performances in this absurdist play they created together, with an assist from its director, the equally brilliant actress Kathryn Hunter.
Talk about turning lemons into lemonade – the play was based on Petherbridge’s
unfortunate experience of suffering a stroke just as he was preparing to star
in a production of King Lear.

Night Is A Room. Naomi Wallace’s play, the third and best of her offbeat yet
lyrical works produced at the Signature Theatre (the others were And I And
Silence and The Liquid Plain) is a jaw-dropping, audacious piece of writing,
with unexpected twists and turns throughout.Bill Rauch directed, and the cast – Dagmara Dominczyk, Ann Dowd, and
Bill Heck – blazingly delivered the goods.

Scenes from an Execution.Speaking of
audacious writing, Howard Barker’s over-the-top play about a highly
unconventional 16th century Venetian artist (superbly portrayed by
five-time Tony nominee Jan Maxwell in her self-declared swan song) was given an
amazing production by PTP/NYC at Atlantic Stage 2 under Richard Romagnoli’s
fearless direction.

The Humans.
With this play, Stephen Karam rises to the ranks of Annie Baker in capturing the
angst of everyday lives. This is a great leap forward for the writer of the
well-received but thin Sons of the Prophet, a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Here he
encapsulates with bittersweet humor the pain of a middle class
family caught up in the great economic downturn and struggling with various personal crises as
they gather for Thanksgiving dinner. Among the excellent cast and under Joe
Mantello’s taut direction, Jayne Houdyshell gave a pitch perfect performance of
a middle-aged woman trying desperately to hold things together.

Two Gentlemen of Verona. Fiasco Theater’s giddy and joyful production of
Shakespeare’s early comedy that presages A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth
Night was a sheer delight.Please let us
see more from this versatile group.

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